The Temple's Pillars
by Sapphire Midnight
Summary: AU. SenshiGenerals and UsaMam. Ami's been training to become a pillar for Mercury, but now Mercury's goddess must accept her. In obtaining the planet's power she must give herself to the man she most loves and despises, and she's not the only one!


Disclaimer: _I do NOT own Sailor Moon or the characters IN Sailor Moon, so go try to sue someone else who happens to be a little more forgetful than I am._

**The Temple's Pillars **

**Chapter One: **_Ami_

She lived in a village with many other people. She knew them all by first name, and knew almost all of their secrets, just as they knew almost all of hers. She was the quiet one; some would say the most shy. She was the observer. She wanted to please everybody. She was sincere in everything she did. Some of the villagers said it would only cause her heart to break one day because of it. She ignored them. She didn't want to see the evil or hurt in the world. She was too pure for that.

Her name was Ami.

She had multiple friends; her closest ones were well known and well-liked. There was Usagi, the chief's daughter; Rei, the priestess-in-training; Mokoto, the huntress; and Minako, the pretty flirt. Ami didn't know what it was they saw in her, nor why they accepted her into their group, but she was thankful for it none-the-less. They didn't know how much their friendship meant to her. They didn't know how deeply she held it.

There were other village girls around Ami and her friends' age that were not as close to them. Some of the village girls were actually hostile in trying to get what they wanted, and going about certain ways in order to make sure they _got _what they wanted. Ami had always steered clear of them. She didn't want any grudges held against her. Some of her dear friends had already gotten into a lot of trouble on the other village girls' behalf. She never intended upon being a part of it.

Courting in the village was a different affair, however, and Ami had no escape from steering clear of malevolent glances. Kiroshi and Hitoma were two contemptuous village girls Ami was unable to avoid in this little dispute. Ami had always felt drawn to Zoicite in some way, but she hadn't realized Hitoma had also been crushing on him. Kiroshi was little more hostile than Hitoma however. She set her gaze on Zoicite after he had already begun to court Ami, and she was relentless in wanting to get him for herself. She was also ruthless in the game of beaux.

Ami had been sitting with Zoicite and chatting amiably with him on an overturned trunk of a tree near the beginning of the forest on the outskirts of the village when she noticed Kiroshi crouched in the brush not too far away, watching them intently. Ami tried to ignore the girl, but found her to be too distracting. It was unnerving while being watched and she wondered if Zoicite also knew of their eavesdropper, but was too bashful to ask.

After a while of their talking, Zoicite turned to Ami and grasped her hand in his. "Ami, is something bothering you?" Here he grinned knowingly as a glint entered his eye. "You haven't been keeping up your part of the conversation as you normally do." He smirked as his eyes darted toward the girl hiding in the brush, and then back to her. "I'm not… _boring _you, am I?" He pretended to look offended.

Ami blushed scarlet. So he _had _known, and yet he did nothing about it! She caught his hidden message, and wondered suspiciously what he had in mind. The fact that her hand was being stroked gently in his did nothing to help her mind from thinking coherent, rational thoughts. He always had this effect on her. Whenever he touched her she couldn't think, even if his fingers just _barely _brushed against hers by accident. It was hard for her to breathe even now, even though she and Zoicite had never done anything that exceeded exchanging sweet, perfectly innocent kisses every now and then.

Ami was no idiot. She knew more than a few beaux were a lot less innocent, and that Zoicite was one of them. She had always been thankful that he respected her well enough to never request her presence in the forest at some exceptionally late or early morning while everyone was sleeping, but she had also been slightly wounded that he wasn't interested in her in that sort of way. She tried to talk herself into believing he cared for her more than those previous girls, but she wasn't able to completely convince herself yet. There were other male villagers that were interested in her, but they were easy to gauge and their conversational skills never interested her. Zoicite was the only male that sparked her interests intellectually, and he even held a mind that Ami was _still _trying to fully comprehend. During the longer periods of time she spent with him, she was beginning to think she never _would _completely understand his way of thinking. His mind was simply too complex, and utterly different from those around her.

Ami blinked for a moment at the silence that settled between them, and blushed a shade darker. "Oh, I'm sorry. My mind is elsewhere. And you could _never _bore me, Zoicite. You know that all too well."

He grinned cheekily at her and slightly leaned forward when he said, "I do, do I?" He leaned back once again and observed her through bright eyes, laughter swimming in their depths. "Perhaps that is the only reason you allow me to court you?" He raised his brown, and the laughter in his eyes lessened.

Ami blinked, utterly confused. This was one of those moments that made her dumbfounded, where she did not often find herself. She always had to pick at his words, seeking for a hidden meaning, if there was one at all! She thought about her words carefully, which she often did with him. She'd never needed to be so careful, unless it involved hurting poor Usagi's feelings. It was nice to have to think every once in a while.

Gently, Ami pulled her hand from Zoicite's grasp so she would be able to think more clearly. While getting her mind to think with rapid precision, she overlooked the fact that she was massaging the hand Zoicite had captured close to her chest. Zoicite, on the other hand, noticed with hidden interest.

Ami turned away from his penetrating gaze.

"You know your intellect astonishes me," she said carefully, not wanting to offend. She stole a look in his direction and saw understanding alight upon his face before reassuring and urging her to continue. She once again averted her eyes while saying, "But that isn't the _only _reason I am interested in you." She colored slightly, much to Zoicite's delight, and she placed a cool hand to her warm cheek. "I… can't say what it is that intrigues me so, for I can not understand it myself." She quickly looked up into his eyes as if to reassure him when she added, "But if I ever figure it out, you will be the first to know!"

Zoicite smiled down at her as he once again scooped her hand out of her own grasp and into his. "Ami, if I ever needed reassurances, I would know how to get them." Once again she was slightly confused by this, and then blushed when she assumed his meaning. If he meant he would ask her to lay with him, she didn't know if she would be able to accept, no matter _how _great her feelings were! If he wanted her to prove herself _that _way, she didn't know if she could do it!

Zoicite chuckled at her innocent look and rubbed the padding of his thumb over her hand in a rhythmic manner. "Don't worry Ocean Eyes, _that_ was not what I was referring to."

At this comment her blush deepened. She looked away from him to try to cool her burning flesh. Perhaps his heated gaze was affecting her thus? Or could it be the use of the nickname only he ever used?

"You forget yourself," she found herself saying. "Neptune rules the oceans, and even if I _did _happen to hold a bond to Mercury…"

He placed a finger to her lips. "You will be great with or without the power of Mercury." Ami could only gaze into his soft eyes and the few blonde hairs that fell in front of those eyes. She was hypnotized. He leaned forward slightly, "You will _always _be my Ocean Eyes…" Then he kissed her.

His kisses for her were always soft and gentle, and usually short and sweet. This one lingered, and Ami reveled in it, leaning forward to meet his kiss full on. There was a slightly added pressure that was usually never there, and it heightened Ami's senses and frayed her nerves. She added a pressure of her own to the kiss and could sense more than feel his initial shock. When they pulled apart he was gazing at her with widened eyes, as if he never expected that from her. She was sure her normally pale complexion was rosy—since being around Zoicite and _only _Zoicite affected her this way—but for once she was not shy or ashamed of it. She gazed into his jade eyes as if to say, 'There is more to me than you will let yourself see.'

Ami smiled when she realized he still hadn't let go of her hand.

It was a few moments after the kiss that the presence from the brush allowed herself to be known. She stomped angrily over to the two love-birds and yanked Zoicite's hand away from Ami's. Ami was startled at the audacity of doing such a thing, but was not surprised. "Zoicite, I just heard the news! It's so exciting!" She babbled, acting as though she had not been watching him and Ami for some time now. "I should have _known _it would be you! Think of it! All the glory…"

Zoicite hurriedly interrupted her. "Oh! Kiroshi! How long have you been there?" He tried to act surprised, at which Ami raised a single brow. "Yes, it is a lovely bit of news isn't it? I'm _sure _you want to chat about it, so why don't we do so in private, eh? I'm sure Ami won't mind, will you Ami, dove?"

Ami barely had time to conceal her incredulous look before she stood, along with Zoicite, and added her bit. "Oh! No; not at all. I will leave you two, now. I hope you enjoy yourselves. Good day." She turned on her heel, despite Zoicite's cries of protest, and left as quickly as she was able, listening to Kiroshi's attempts at calming him. Ami was too upset to linger for very long. She marched over to Usagi's hut in a huff, barely noticing the lit torches at the Gathering Circle in front of the temple of the goddesses even though it was just barely twilight.

_I wouldn't be surprised if he's out there all night with her, even though Kiroshi is **supposedly **still pure. I wouldn't put it past Zoicite to miss such an opportunity. _Ami didn't like the place her train-of-thoughts was taking her. She noticed, now that her eyes had adjusted to the dark interior of the hut, that Usagi was not its only occupant. Rei, Minako, and Makoto were there as well. By the sober expressions on their faces, and the guilty looks they gave Ami upon noticing her, she could tell their conversation had been two things. One: it held something that was very serious; and two: they had been talking about _her. _

Ami stopped short of their little circle on the rugs and furs on the ground and planted her hands on her hips, her expression stormy. She was _not _in the best of moods for once. "What _now?" _she asked them when no once dared explain right away.

It was Minako who finally broke the silence. "Well, Ami, you noticed the torches placed in the Gathering Circle when you came back from your walk with Zoicite, didn't you?" She asked hesitantly, not daring to look at the blue-haired girl.

"Yes," Ami stated impatiently, her curiosity intensifying.

"I _still _say he led her away for this reason!" Rei snapped, not able to hold in her opinion any longer. "Men are such scoundrels! He planned this! He didn't want her to know!" Fire blazed in the depths of her eyes and she slammed the palm of her hand down onto the floor, emitting a rather large puff of dirt and dust to float up into the air.

Ami's brow wrinkled in confusion. "Will _one _of you start making _sense?" _She asked to no one in particular.

Usagi, who Ami normally wouldn't look to for advice or sense, decided to try and make things clearer. In situations such as these, Ami came to learn that even Usagi could be taken seriously, and deserved respect for her sharp mind _when _she put that mind of hers into use.

"Ami, you're in training to possibly become the next Pillar for Mercury, aren't you?" Usagi squeaked more rather than asked.

Ami slowly walked over to the other girls and knelt, thinking it might be better if she wasn't standing for the information she was about to hear. "Yes, but everybody knows that. What about it?"

"You've been training to possibly be one of the Pillars, the Pillar that will fuel Mercury's power through one of the girls of this village. Even when you were young you were taught what it would entail. All of us were. Every female villager knows its costs, and its advantages, even if we do not know who the Chosen will be."

Ami nodded through all of this. "Yes, I already know all of that, but what are you trying to tell me?"

Usagi looked at Minako in desperation. The other blonde nodded and took over. She looked at Ami with a penetrating gaze. "You also know the way the priests find which girl is to become Pillar? That she must loose something that is greatly prized, and it may all be for nothing if she is not the Chosen?"

Ami nodded again, a blush staining her cheeks.

"And that she must be untouched," Makoto added.

To this Ami leapt to her feet. "If you think I am sullied in _any _way…"

Usagi shook her head and stood, walking over to her friend and urging her to take a seat. Ami did, albeit reluctantly.

Minako picked up once again. "The priests to the temple of the goddesses choose one male to partake in this event, and through him the goddess of Mercury will Choose which female is to become the Pillar." Ami's eyes widened as her skin went clammy and paled. Minako continued quietly and slowly. "This man is the one who will bring about the powers of Mercury."

Ami shook her head and leaned away from her friends as if it would help her to not hear their words. "No… If it was him… he would have told me…"

The girls looked at her with pity in their eyes.

"Wouldn't he?" Ami asked unconvincingly, searching all of their faces.

Her friends didn't answer her.

"Is it him?" She asked, stronger this time. "Is it Zoicite?"

Usagi looked at her sympathetically. "It is. It was announced shortly after you two left. There was a meeting all the villagers were to attend. He was supposed to be there. He knew when the announcement would begin…"

"And he kept it from me," Ami whispered, her eyes filling with tears. "Why didn't he _tell _me?"

"Maybe he was going to," Makoto offered, her heart breaking for her poor friend. "Maybe he wanted to tell you when you were alone."

Ami shook her head and tried to stand, and almost fell over by tripping on her own feet. "No. He would have put it out in the open right away. He wouldn't have held out on me if it was this important. He didn't want me to know. When Kiroshi came, he was trying to hide it from me…"

Her friends looked shocked and angered by this bit of news. Ami didn't want them to be mad at him.

"It's not his fault. He probably had _some _sort of good reason…" She trailed off.

Rei shook her head. "No, Ami. He doesn't deserve you standing up for him! He's scum! They all are! You don't need to put up with this!"

Usagi was gentler when she asked, "What are you going to do? Are you still going to try to become the Pillar, knowing who you, and multiple other girls, will have to lay with?"

Ami shook her head, resolve and defiance glittering in her eyes. "No."

Her friends nearly fell over as one. "What?"

Ami, her jaw firmly set in place, repeated herself. "No."

Makoto was the fastest to recover. "Why not? This is something you've wanted all your life! You've been preparing for this for _years!"_ She looked at Ami as if she had gone insane. "Isn't this something you said you felt 'called' to do? Isn't it what you secretly desire?" Her friends still didn't understand.

Ami sighed patiently and sat once again, her mind taking on a cool, icy defiance. "Yes, it is something I've always wanted and… desired. It is something I feel drawn to, but not like this. I never imagined something like this. We were brought up as thinking it an _honor _to become a Pillar, and no less an honor to lay with a Chosen man to see if we earned or held that power. Mercury has always seemed to… call me, but now all I hear are distant echoes that may be intended for someone else."

"How can you _say _such a thing?" Rei screeched. When it came to Power and Responsibility, Rei believed people should dive for it head-on when it 'called' or consumed them. She couldn't fathom how Ami could seem to turn her back on it so easily. "I never thought this would happen to someone like _you _of all people, Ami!"

Ami looked at her sadly, and offered a small smile. "Perhaps I will become a priestess instead, like you. I will offer my body, mind, and soul to the great gods and goddesses." Her smile looked forlorn.

Minako placed a gentle hand on her companion's shoulder. "Your feelings for him went deep, didn't they? Is that why you feel betrayed? Do you think he will offer the Power to Kiroshi instead?"

Ami froze for a moment before she remembered to breathe and look away. "Who said anything about being betrayed? I knew he had—and they still remain—countless beaux even to this day. I guess it was folly and simply wishful thinking that he would be attracted to me as well."

"How could you say that?" Usagi shrieked. "Of course he's attracted to you! He'd be blind if he wasn't!"

Ami turned her gaze on the girl and Usagi was afraid at the emotionless mask she saw there. Icy shivers raked her spine as she stared into the empty depths of Ami's eyes. Usagi still felt uncomfortable even after Ami finally removed her gaze.

"Besides," Ami continued listlessly, "He isn't the one who Chooses who the Powers are given to. He holds no power over the trial; it is the goddess' job of bestowing Celestial Power on the maiden if the village girl is worthy."

"You can't simply back out now though!" Makoto argued. "Once you've agreed to enter the Temple, there's no going back! You already signed in blood!"

Now her friends were simply worried for her well-being. Ami was touched.

"Yes, I've been thinking about that. I wouldn't want to go back on my word, anyway. I will enter the Temple of the goddess. That does not mean I must fulfill the Pillar's duties though. I will tell Zoicite then, and only then, that I wish not to partake in the ceremony, and that I can not be made impure if I am to enter the priestess' wing for the Temple. If I serve the goddess, hopefully she will not take my act in scorn. I will prove to her that I remain faithful."

Rei looked at her dubiously. "Are you sure he will listen, and that you can get him to agree to your terms? The ceremony takes place tomorrow night."

Ami nodded with emphasis. "Yes, and he will be busy." She gave her friends a hard stare, "And _no one _will find out about this until after it has occurred." Her friends quickly nodded in agreement. Ami then relaxed. "He will heed me. He is a gentlemen, even if he _has _tumbled around innumerous times. He even said today that he doesn't intend to bend over backwards to lay with me. I have nothing to fear. There will be countless others before and after me tomorrow, so it needn't bother nor offend him."

The other girls didn't look so sure, but opted to remain silent.

Ami, on the other hand, looked surer by the moment. "Yes. I will become a priestess of the Temple, instead. Surely the goddess will not frown upon me for _that." _She left the hut after making her friends swear not to breathe a _word _about her plan, and set off for a night of sleep she knew would evade her.


End file.
